


Try Being Blunt

by thekatthatbarks



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:20:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23841397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekatthatbarks/pseuds/thekatthatbarks
Summary: “What’s cookin’, good lookin’?”Sai looked up to see Sakura smiling at him with a look in her eyes he couldn’t read. He glanced down at the food he had over the fire and told her, “Fish.”Naruto snorted nearby as Sakura sighed. Sai looked up at her confused, feeling like he was missing something. “What?”
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Sai
Comments: 9
Kudos: 211





	Try Being Blunt

“What’s cookin’, good lookin’?”

Sai looked up to see Sakura smiling at him with a look in her eyes he couldn’t read. He glanced down at the food he had over the fire and told her, “Fish.”

Naruto snorted nearby as Sakura sighed. Sai looked up at her confused, feeling like he was missing something. “What?”

She smiled, softer this time, and sat down beside him. “Nothing, Sai.”

***

It was another mission and another campfire, but it reminded Sai of the mission they’d had a couple weeks ago when Sakura argued with him over taking the first watch.

“Sai, aren’t you tired?”

Sai shook his head, checking over his pack and replacing things he’d used throughout the day. “No, Sakura, you should go rest.”

Sakura leaned in close to him, her voice near his ear as she bent down. “Are you _sure_ you’re not tired because you’ve been running through my mind all day?”

Sai felt his heart stutter in his chest as he turned his head to see that smile of hers. “Yes, Sakura, I’m sure.” He was lost on the last part of her sentence but didn’t think it mattered, knowing what she was asking him.

She straightened back up with a shake of her head, laughing softly to herself. “Okay, Sai, come wake me up when it’s my turn.”

Sai watched her walk over to her sleeping bag and lay down without another word. He stood up and glanced down at the fire. He had that feeling he was missing something again and hated it.

***

“Sakura’s been acting odd, lately.” Sai finally brought it up when it was just him and Naruto sitting down for lunch at the ramen place he liked so much.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him and after finishing his bite, asked, “What do you mean?”

Sai shifted uneasily in his seat, feeling nervous for some odd reason. Well, if anyone could tell him what was going on with Sakura, it would be Naruto. He told him about the random sayings she’d been telling him that were out of place and didn’t make any sense in their conversations. He told him about Sakura giving him flowers. About how she was always touching him now, a hand on his arm as they walked. About how it seemed like she stood closer now and –

Naruto’s growing grin as he talked turned into laughter and Sai glared at him, feeling agitated. “I didn’t tell you, so you would make fun of me, Naruto. I don’t – “

Naruto grabbed his arm, shaking his head, his laughter calming down to a smile. “I’m not. I promise, I’m not. It’s just – “ He looked down at his ramen bowl and back to Sai. “At the beginning, she tried to explain it to you, and you didn’t get it. Then, she did all these little _signs_ and when that didn’t work...” He chuckled. “She’s definitely gotten blunter about it. I had been joking about the pick-up lines.”

Sai sighed, narrowing his eyes at him. “What’re you talking about? I don’t remember her explaining anything to me – “

“She’s flirting with you,” Naruto interrupted him with a look.

Sai knew what flirting was. He’d learned about it when he was back at Root for undercover missions. He understood it – _or he’d at least thought he had_ – but Sakura hadn’t been flirting with him. _She was just…_ Sai let the thought trail off, not knowing how to finish it. While he had considered it for the briefest second when he was trying to figure out the change in their interactions, he’d never thought he could be right. Sakura couldn’t have been flirting with him, it was something else.

Sai shook his head. “No, I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“No.” Naruto clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder. “ _You’re_ misunderstanding something.”

_Well, that was clear_.

Naruto sighed and softened a bit. He repeated, “Sai, Sakura’s been _flirting_ with you.”

“Why?” It was the most obvious question to him. He couldn’t imagine Sakura having romantic feelings towards him and it hurt to even consider it. He didn’t think she was doing it to get something from him, since she’d been doing it for weeks and hadn’t asked for anything. He knew some people did it jokingly with their friends, but Sakura never did it with anyone else.

“Because she _likes_ you!” Naruto laughed but it sounded more exasperated than amused. “We know there are still some things you have a hard time figuring out. So, she tried to explain it to you, but it went right over your head. Then, she started all this flirting thinking maybe you would pick up on it if it was similar to something you’d seen or read about.”

Sai could feel his skin heating but didn’t care that much about it. “When did she – “ Sai tongue stopped as something flashed in his memory. Sakura blushing as she told him how much she cared about him, how she wanted him to stay in her life. Sai hadn’t thought too into it, not thinking it was anything close to a confession and had just told her the same thing back. He remembered the way her shoulders had slumped, her smile a little less genuine.

“Oh,” Sai said intelligently. He fought back a groan and then stood up from his stool, pulling some money out of his pocket to put on the counter. Naruto looked at him in question, but there was a knowing smile on his face. “I’ll see you later, Naruto.”

***

Sai found Sakura in her office at the hospital. She smiled at him as he came into the room, pulling a binder off one of her bookshelves. “Hey, Sai. Did you – “

Sai didn’t say anything and grabbed her waist to turn her around. Sakura made a sound of surprise before he leaned down to slant his lips over hers. Sakura gasped against his lips and Sai’s head felt foggy when he pulled back from her. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him, her cheeks red. Sai felt like such an idiot.

Sakura cleared her throat as her hands rested against his chest. She smiled up at him and Sai wondered if she could feel his heart racing under her palm. “So, which pick-up line did the trick?”

Sai smiled and shook his head, meeting her eyes. “Naruto had to explain it to me. I’m sorry.”

Sakura laughed and gave him a sheepish smile. “I probably should’ve tried telling you again.”

Sai shrugged and pulled her closer with unsure hands. “You can try now.”

“Well,” Sakura leaned into him, her hands snaking up his chest to loop around his neck, “when I was telling you I really care about you and want you in my life more, I meant as _more than friends_ , Sai.”

Sai’s heart was still out of rhythm in his chest, but it was a common occurrence whenever Sakura was close. He angled his head down, watching her eyes flutter close and brushed his lips against hers. He teased her in a soft voice, “Was that really that hard?”

Sakura chuckled and told him, “Shut up,” before kissing him.


End file.
